Wichita eagle., 1887-01-27
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HAHN sgu1e
THE MESSENGER BOY.
THE PLEASURE OF WAITING A HALF
-FOUR TO SEND A MESSAGE.

Out Into the Rain and Dariness-A
Chilled Boy Shivcring with the Damp
and Coid-Frcn Ten to Twelve Hours
Work.
Whir! Whizz-izz-izz-zz-zl goes the
call box, and You glance at the clock with
the comfortable assurance that the messenger
BOY viii be on hand IN just three minutes
Yen turn again to your letters, and your
faith in the service" being complete become
absorbed il the work before you. determined
to fiji those s.ree minutes with as much earn
est endeavor as they are capable of holding.
The clocl; ticks on-your pen scratches in
duStriously across sheet after sheet of note
paper till you start up suddenly with the dim
consciousness that more than three minutes
have passed, and behold. fifteen of these
feeting measurements of time have sped
across the face of your dial. nuTnuring
somewhat you step to the box and ring again,
this time with considerable emphasis on the
knob, and sit down TO wonder how the ser
vice" ever made its reputation for speed
Another quarter of an hour slowly meas
ures itself upon the serene face Of your Next
can onyx clock. and when You are about 70
devise other means Of transporting your mes
sage the door bell rings, and a moment after
a u year-old boy, with cap in hand, is shown
into the room
"Whats the matter with you boys over ct
the office!" you angrily demand
BOYS all out, sir: lots O calls in the Office
tonight"
"Ah Business is booming suppose.
Meanwhile. / have to wait half an hour to
send my message" This you remark with a
d., e Il.
Madison avenue
GONE II a TR!CE.
The boy is gone in a trice. Out into tie
darkness, for it Is after D. IL. and. still
worse, it is raining.
Do YOU think it is a jolly thing to be a mes
senger boy! Well, did you ever picture to
yourself how pleasant it must be to run all
around the city for ten hours in the rains 1t
may be only a slow, drilling rain, or it may be
a rain that falls in sheets, with no respect for.
either age or position, but drenchinG all alike,
old and young, and rich and poor
To be sure, he wears rubber coat outside
his uniform, anS rubber boots ard cap, but in
some manner the rain finds its way inside in
spite of the plentiful waterproof, and in less
, than half day the boy is chilled through and
shiveling with the damp and cold But he
reaches Madison avenue and peers through
the car windows to find the numbers But
the glaS is all sparkling with rain drops, and
be sees only a confused mass OF bubbles, each
one throwing back a shining ray from the
street lamp But he gets out of the car,
crosses through the ovcriiowiHg cutters 10 the
pavement and gazes up with straining eyes
at the dark doors above him. There are not
many lights on the street, and it is only occa-
r !.
dark stained glass OF some great door telling
of life within. He hunts up ana down the
street, ringing bells occasionally, but meeting
with no response. He takes out his message
and looks again at the address. 1t is two
blocks below.
AWAY ~ TIE DARK.
So he hurIios away in the dark and the |
rain still boats ard heats uncoaeingly.
IN the Office things are comfortable and as !
The night wears on calls become less frequent,
and the boys lounge around the huge fire in /
the little back waiting room and tell stories /
and play marbles and other games til the next /
call or TIL their time is up.
What are their hours. Sometimes from !
&. m to : .. M. sometimes from or a. IN.
70 the corresponding hour at night. They |
nearly always work twelve hours, never less |
than ten.
Their wages.
All the way from s. to s. Per wee, and |
board and clothe themselves, for these bows /
must buy their uniforms from the companies |
at a system of weekly payments, which are /
always deducted from their wages.
This is the rccompense for ten hours hard |
work, rude contact with the hardest side of |
life. and loss of all educational advantages (
Moreover even these few dollars do not 20 |
TO the boys own use, but are usually the /
n2ainstay Of IA family. Perhaps the mother /
is a widow with little children depending or |
her, or perhaps the father drinks, and the |
boys earnings must pay the rent and buy |
the bread.-New York Graphic.